nothing but ashes (blow them all away)
by authorwannabe101
Summary: Eijun and Seidou's baseball team just want to have a nice trip to Tokyo. Unfortunately, that's apparently too much to ask for, and they find themselves caught up in a villain attack. Pre-Miyusawa. Part of my "We Are the Challengers (Plus Ultra!)" verse, and sequel to "strike the match (let it all burn)".


**This is a sequel to "strike the match (let it all burn)" and part of my "We Are the Challengers (Plus Ultra!)" verse, but can be read separately (though I do recommend reading STM first because this fic references it a lot and deals with the aftermath).**

 **When I first started writing this, my only thought was 'what BNHA event can I plop Eijun and Seidou into,' not 'what BNHA event after September can I plop Eijun and Seidou into'. As a result, I wrote the first almost 5k with the event being the Hosu Incident. Which, y'know. Takes place in May. Which technically could have worked, but I have everyone working through emotional wounds less than a month old, and I didn't want to change that. So instead, I've created an entirely new incident that's similar to the Hosu one, but takes place months later, in order to keep both my own timeline, the DNA timeline, and the BNHA timeline intact.**

 **QUIRKS TO KNOW: Eijun (house cat and lion), Miyuki (quirkless), Jun (voice projection), Chris (analysis of weaknesses and strengths), Kawakami (raindrop fingers), Tanba (butterfly), Toujou (turns to rock), Kanemaru (turns to rubber)**

 **I do not own _Daiya no Ace_ , noumus and quirks, or the surprise cameo from _Free!_** **This is crossposted to AO3 and Tumblr.**

* * *

Eijun, he later admitted to himself, never expected to be in this scenario only a few weeks after a hostage situation. Tetsu had suggested a team trip—third years included—to take their minds off of what happened, and Tokyo was easily accessible. Kataoka-kantoku hadn't taken long to approve and so off they went, Eijun and Harucchi stubbornly dragging a tired Furuya along.

"Heeey Seidou!" Jun bellowed once they arrived, hopping on a bench and ignoring the scandalized looks he received from passer-bys. "Time to split up! Everyone grab a partner and decide where to go! We'll meet back here in—" He looked down at Tetsu, who held up two fingers. "—two hours! And don't eat, cause we're having a team meal! You will be held to your usual three bowls of rice!"

With that said, Jun jumped down. Eijun looked around to see everyone quickly splitting up. Harucchi waved goodbye as he was pulled by a suddenly awake Furuya towards a nearby park. Kanemaru, Toujou, Kawakami, Tanba, and Chris-senpai called for any others who wanted to visit a bookstore. Eijun fidgeted in place, unsure which group to join or where to go—

An arm wrapped around his shoulder, just shy of his neck.

"Yo," Miyuki offered. Eijun felt his face flush, heat rising all the way up to his ears as his tail fur bristled.

"Hi?" he offered back, voice weak.

"Want to hit the road? Where do you want to go?" Miyuki peered down at him. Maybe it was the glasses blurring the image, but Eijun thought his catcher almost looked worried. He shook his head and took a second look. " _No?_ " Miyuki asked, scandalised. Nope; not worried. Then Eijun realised what happened.

"No! I mean, sure. Uh—" Eijun cast a wild look around them. Restaurant, restaurant, comics, alley, sports store— "Sports store!"

Miyuki stared at him blankly.

"We're here for a break and you want to go to a _sports store_?"

Eijun nodded furiously. Now that the idea was there, he actually wanted to anyway, so he might as well drag his catcher with him.

"Fine," Miyuki sighed. "But thirty minutes max, ok?"

* * *

An hour later they were still in the store. Eijun had picked out a new pair of batting gloves and moved on to the bats themselves. Miyuki simply followed him around, offering a sarcastic comment every now and then. Eijun ignored him in favour of settling into a batting stance with a bat identical to Onii-san's. When he looked up, though, Miyuki was staring past him out the glass store doors.

"Sawamura…" he said. "We need to take cover!" His voice rose in a shout at the end, panic threading through it. Eijun spun to look behind himself just in time to see a car collide with the doors, the resulting explosion of flames, gas, and glass knocking him backwards into Miyuki and further into the store. Thankfully they didn't hit anything, but as Eijun got up, it was to stare at the gaping, flaming hole where the store front used to be.

Outside, a huge, hulking beast with exposed brains lumbered down the street to toss the next car. Eijun gaped at it. He hadn't seen one in person, but he recognized it from the news in May.

"Sawamura, you must be the unluckiest person alive," Miyuki groaned from behind him, "if you're attracting beasts who're all supposed to be dead."

For once, Eijun didn't have the words to respond. Other people were taking their chances with the flames to get out of the store. Another beast—a noumu, he remembered, is what heroes had called them—joined the first, and the crowd scattered, screaming.

"We have to help…"

"We have to _what_? Bakamura, are you crazy? We're not heroes! I don't even—" Miyuki broke off to mutter a curse. "Sawamura, I don't even have a _quirk_."

"And? Who says you need a quirk to save people?"

Miyuki stared at him like his head had suddenly turned into a pumpkin. "The world, Sawamura! The world! You got _shot_ a few weeks ago because no one could do anything until Endeavor arrived! Because _I_ couldn't—"

A nearby explosion cut off the next words. It was just as well; despite the frequent accusals of being an idiot, Eijun understood perfectly well what his catcher said. He understood it just as well as he knew Miyuki would never have said it if this hadn't happened.

"Text the team," he said instead. "You're the captain, Cap. Check up on everyone. I'm sure by this point they at least know _something_ is happening, but it would make you feel better, right?"

Miyuki barked a sharp laugh and shook his head. Running a hand through his hair, he pulled out his phone.

"You're unbelievable, you know that, Sawamura?"

Eijun grinned so hard his cheeks hurt. It distracted him from the way his tail twinged, as if a bullet had pierced it a second time.

* * *

Thankfully, it only took a few minutes for Tetsu to text back: _Heroes setting up safe area in bullet train stop. Jun's volunteered himself as an announcement system, so you'll know when you're close._

Eijun took a deep breath and mentally did a body check. Tail and claws out. Ears pricked to catch the slightest noise.

A rattle next to him made him turn. Miyuki met his eyes evenly.

"Quirkless, remember?"

"It's a good idea," he replied, and plunged through the dying flames of the doorway onto the street.

Miyuki armed with a baseball bat: Check.

* * *

With all the chaos on the street, it didn't take them long to run into trouble. Or rather, neither of them could just run away when they saw a noumu stalking towards Kanemaru, Toujou, Kawakami, Tanba, and Chris-senpai. Toujou had taken up a stance in front of the others, skin hardened to rock, but they had nowhere to go with the beast's focus completely on them. On instinct, Eijun looked to Miyuki. His catcher looked back and, perfectly silent, flashed him two pitch signs. Splitter. Cutter.

"You're lucky I know Furuya's signs, Miyuki Kazuya," Eijun muttered. He waited a moment to watch as his catcher ran towards the beast, shouting insults and waving his bat around. Then, he followed him in from a slightly different direction, as silent as a cat stalking a mouse.

* * *

Eijun managed to catch the noumu from the side, raking his claws down and as deep as he dared while knowing this used to be an actual person.

The beast howled in pain and spun to face him. Eijun stared up at the face from his crouched position. He just had to wait long enough for—Miyuki swung his bat into the back of the head, just before the neck became open brain. The noumu stumbled forward, face contorting from pain to anger.

"Let's go let's go let's go!" Miyuki shouted, dropping the bat in order to grab Eijun's arm with one hand and Kawakami's with the other. Their other teammates quickly fell in behind them as they ran.

Any other night, they would be able to hear the slap of sneakers against the concrete. Now, though, Eijun listened as the roars of the beast following them blended with an explosion in the distance. He flinched, the noise reminding him of the gunshot that scarred his tail. Something tightened painfully around his bicep in response. A glance revealed Miyuki's fingers, white-knuckled and dragging him forward. Always forward. Whenever Eijun took a step back, his catcher was there to pull him forward again. This was no different.

"Let's go!" he shouted, echoing Miyuki's encouragement from before.

"We're already going, Bakamura!" Kanemaru panted. Despite his protest, Eijun watched as the third baseman pulled ahead of him.

Miyuki laughed and began the team's usual running count. Behind them, Chris-senpai choked on his own laugh and Tanba groaned.

The count drowned everything out as Eijun focused on nothing else, until a new voice filtered through.

"—safe area! If you can hear me, you are approaching a safe area! Please continue to the bullet train station!" The voice was rough and had obviously been talking nonstop for awhile, but it was still recognisable.

"We're close!" Eijun cheered. "I can hear Spitz-senpai!"

Of course it was at that moment that Kawakami let out a yelp. Miyuki's hand, still wrapped around Eijun's arm, yanked him around and dragged him backwards for a moment before the catcher let go. Eijun stumbled, but eventually found his balance and looked up. The noumu's giant paw grasped Kawakami around the middle, holding him in midair. Miyuki dangled a foot in the air, stubbornly keeping his hold on Kawakami's arm even while he cursed out the beast.

Eijun lunged forward, meaning to latch onto either of his teammates and pull them to safety, but Chris-senpai lunged into his path.

"You can't!"

"But they—" Eijun protested, voice dying in his throat as the catcher shook his head.

"Do you think I didn't already use my quirk to analyse him? He has no weaknesses that mere high schoolers can exploit. You, Kanemaru, and Toujou need to get to the safe zone and send heroes to help. Do you understand?"

Eijun looked over Chris-senpai's shoulder. Tanba had latched onto Miyuki, giving their catcher an anchor and a brace. Kawakami's eyes had gone wide with fear, but a rainstorm fell from his fingers onto his captor's fingers and made the grip slippery. At the rate they were going, they might get Kawakami out safely. They might be able to escape the beast, and hopefully meet up with heroes to escort them to the safe zone. Might.

Eijun looked down at his claws. Everyone had said he had the power to get into UA if he wanted. He'd chosen baseball instead, but he guessed it was time to figure out if everyone had been right.

"No, Chris-senpai," he said. He stared up at his idol, meeting his gaze. Unfaltering. "I'm not trapped in a bathroom, and my wound has healed. You can't protect me forever."

"Shit, Sawamura," Kanemaru breathed. Eijun didn't turn to took at him, eyes focused on his old catcher.

"Eijun," Chris-senpai began, then faltered. He took a deep breath, released it, and let him go. "You're right. As much as I hate to admit it, you have the best quirk for combat out of us. We need you here."

"That's great!" Miyuki called. "But I don't know if you've noticed, this isn't the time for a heartfelt discussion!"

Chris-senpai turned, and Eijun finally looked past him. While they'd been talking, Toujou had turned to stone and wrapped his arms around Tanba. The extra weight had deterred the noumu a little, but each move of his arm tugged Kawakami a little more out of Miyuki's grasp. The fact the three anchors also had to dodge the other arm didn't help. Judging by the torn clothing and blood welling up from Miyuki and Tanba's torso and shoulder, they hadn't managed to escape them all, either.

"The weakest point is the arm holding Kawakami," Chris-senpai murmured. Eijun beamed up at him, and his old catcher smiled down at him. "If you manage to get that hand to open, we can make another run for the safe zone."

Eijun dashed towards the noumu, tail streaming out behind him. The wind whistled in his ears, and he made out the familiar sound of Kanemaru running. Knowing Chris-senpai, he'd probably sent the other first year to get a hero. He didn't dare check though.

Last time, he'd caught the beast unaware from the side. This time, he was charging him head on. It would be more difficult: like climbing a moving tree with only a few branches. Except—

"Sawamura!" Toujou called. "Use us!"

"W—what he said!" Tanba stammered.

Miyuki said nothing, but from him, that said it all. With his teammates help, it would be more like scaling a small hill.

Unable to help himself, Eijun let out a roar of delight, sheathed his claws, and leapt into the air. His legs—strengthened both by his quirk, which made his body suited for jumping, and by Kataoka-kantoku's training—carried him all the way up into a crouch on Toujou's shoulders, hands braced on Tanba's bald head. He gave it a quick rub for luck.

"O—oi!" the older pitcher stammered, and Eijun laughed.

"Sorry, Tanba-san! I couldn't resis—!"

"Bakamura, the arm's coming around again!" Miyuki snapped.

"Right!" Eijun shouted, and leapt into the air once more.

This time his leap carried him over Tanba's head and onto his catcher's back, though not for long. He crouched low and, just as the noumu's arm entered his periphery vision, jumped off his teammates and onto the arm holding Kawakami. The other pitcher stared at him, wide-eyed, and Eijun spared a second to shoot him a grin. Then he focused on scoring his claws down the flesh before him, digging in deep. Last time, he'd tried not to cause too much damage. Now he didn't care. Sooner or later, he'd either tear a tendon or cause enough pain that the noumu let his teammates go. Until then, he'd just keep—

"Eijun, duck!" someone called, and he found himself flying.

As he rotated in midair, the night sky turned into faces gaping up at him. And not just any faces, he realised dimly. His teammates. The noumu must have knocked him off his perch with the other arm, but with so much force he flew up instead of down. Not that it mattered, he noted as the faces grew bigger. He'd hit the ground eventually.

"Sawamura!" someone called, and his shoulder wrenched as his hand caught on something. "Come on, Sawamura," the person groaned. "I can't haul you up myself, I'm not that strong! No matter what you first years think!"

"Hah?" Eijun muttered, blinking. The pain, while not enough to indicate a break or dislocation, had still been enough to bring tears to his eyes. "I think you pulled my muscle…"

"Seidou luck," someone groaned.

The first voice snapped, "Quiet, Tanba! A medic can easily heal it, and it's not like it's his throwing arm anyway."

"Sawamura!" someone else called from above. "Sheath your claws!"

Finally, Eijun looked up. The first thing he saw was Kawakami's face, hanging over a fist and staring down at him. The second was Miyuki's fist bleeding everywhere.

"Gah!" he exclaimed. "What happened to you!"

"Never mind me," Miyuki sighed. "Now come on! Chris-senpai is providing a great distraction right now, but sooner or later the noumu is gonna swing for you again! Can you climb?"

Instead of answering, Eijun braced himself on Tanba, reached up to grab his catcher and haul himself up, and froze when he noticed his claws. They were still out from shredding the noumu's arm, but that meant—

His eyes zeroed in on his other hand, still clenched in his catcher's. All the blood was—

"Don't mind me, Sawamura," Miyuki gritted out. "Get up here and free Kawakami, ok? Then you can sheath your claws."

All the blood was from his claws, currently embedded in his catcher's fist.

"Eijun!" Chris-senpai called. "Whenever I can stop running around would be great!"

But for once, Miyuki was right. This wasn't the time to worry about pain. Hadn't he thought something similar himself, just moments before?

"Don't worry, Chris-senpai!" he shouted, and hauled himself up onto Miyuki's back. "Kawakami will be free soon!"

* * *

In the end, Chris-senpai still had to run around for awhile as a distraction so Eijun wouldn't be hit off again, but between Eijun's claws and Kawakami's rain, the pitcher was soon free. Miyuki snatched them both up off the ground, both hands once again pulling his pitchers along, while Tanba, Toujou, and Chris dashed along behind them.

"Where," Tanba panted, "are the heroes?"

"You don't think…" Toujou trailed off, worry clear in his voice.

Eijun shook his head emphatically and called, "No way! Kanee is definitely—"

A tree root shot past them, quickly followed by the pro-hero Kamui Woods. Two other people, obviously heroes by their costumes, but less well-known, ran behind him. One kept going, but the other reversed direction to run with them.

"Are you the group from Seidou?" he asked. "With Miyuki?"

"Yes," their captain nodded. "Kanemaru found you?"

"Yes. I'm going to escort you to him now, ok?"

If Miyuki replied, Eijun didn't hear him, as the beat of their sneakers against the concrete and the sounds of battle erupting behind them overcame everything else.

* * *

They met up with Kanemaru again at the safe zone. He let out a shout as soon as he saw them and ran to meet them, skidding to a halt just in time to avoid crashing into Toujou.

Jun spared them a wave and a wide-eyed worried stare from nearby, but didn't let up on his broadcasting duties. There was a table full of water bottles in front of him that hadn't been touched, either. Tetsu was supposedly in camp, but apparently other business had pulled him away from Jun.

"Tetsu's gonna kill him," Miyuki remarked wryly, and Eijun nodded, stomach twisting. Normally, such a comment would have him stifling laughter. But right now, with the city burning around them and stinking of copper, he couldn't find it in himself.

"Hey," he started. "Let's—"

Someone grabbed his wrist.

Eijun stiffened and tried to pull away, but the grip was too strong.

"Oi," Miyuki and Kanemaru snapped. "Let him go!"

The grip released suddenly, and Eijun found himself stumbling back with the lack of resistance. Arms came up around him to catch him. The tangy sweet scent of fear largely covered up the person's usual smell, but under it all was well-worn leather, dirt, and miso. Miyuki.

Eijun froze in his catcher's arms, who quickly put him on his feet.

"Are you ok?" Tanba asked.

Eijun looked up and nodded. Toujou, Kanemaru, Kawakami, and Tanba were all staring at him worriedly. Miyuki had taken a small step to the side, putting distance between them—though not too far—and glaring at the hero who had grabbed his hand. Chris-senpai had turned the tables on him, and Eijun figured that it had been him grabbing the hero that had gotten himself released.

"What do you want?" Chris-senpai asked. The hero raised his free hand, palm out.

"I thought I saw blood, that's all. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have startled you like that."

"Oh," Eijun said, looking down at his own hand in surprise. He had sheathed his claws, but the blood from both Miyuki and the noumu had caked itself onto his fingers like a melting popsicle. Jolting at the reminder, he whirled on his catcher. "Miyuki! You need to see a doctor!"

The tanuki sighed and rolled his eyes. "So do you, Bakamura."

"And Tanba," Chris interjected.

"The blood is yours?" the hero asked.

"I accidentally clawed him after I got the noumu," Eijun explained. The hero froze, and the pitcher frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"You used your quirk to hurt someone?"

"The noumu had Kawakami, I wasn't about to just let him go."

The hero nodded, but his eyes darted to the side. "Let's get you three to a healer, and we'll talk after, ok?"

"Ok…" Eijun replied. He had the feeling it wasn't that simple. It was the same one he had had when he was little, and his grandfather started explaining lion traditions to him. Like something wasn't right.

* * *

It was only as they were following the hero that Kanemaru hissed, "Oi, Bakamura! Why'd you tell him that?!"

"Ha— oh," Eijun faltered, almost falling as he missed a step. Kawakami grabbed his arm, and he smiled up at him. "Thanks, senpai!"

"Kanemaru, what do you mean?" Miyuki interjected. Steering the team back on the base path, as usual. Though in this case—

"Why do I feel like I did something irreparably wrong?"

"One, thank you for listening when I teach you vocab," Kanemaru began. "And two, I wish you did the same for Japanese law!" Glaring at Miyuki, he added, "And that you paid attention in class. Honestly, do you two just have baseball between your ears?"

Eijun blinked, then jolted. "Ah! You mean—"

"Here we are," the hero—who had been walking a bit ahead of them—interrupted. "Rin-san, they have three injured in their party." The last bit was directed at a red-haired male sitting in a pile of medical supplies. He smiled up at them as the hero left, flashing a neat row of shark teeth.

"Hello! I'm afraid I don't have a healing quirk, but I am quite skilled in first aid. One of my best friends drilled a lot of sports medicine into me." He beamed up at them, and Eijun just about collapsed on the spot.

"Rin-san," Miyuki began, jolting Eijun out of the smile-induced haze, "If you're not a doctor, EMT, or hero, why are you here?"

"Ah," the smile faded. "There was someone else, but they were moved to a nearby building with the seriously injured. Since it's gonna be awhile before the heroes can send someone else, I volunteered to to do triage. And speaking of triage," he beamed up at them again. Eijun beamed back, unable to help himself. The smile was contagious. "Who's injured?"

"This idiot," Eijun and Miyuki both spoke at the same time and pointed at the other.

"And Tanba," Kawakami added.

"I accidentally clawed my catcher," Eijun moaned. "Help him first, please!" He gave a short bow, hoping that would reinforce his request.

Except then Miyuki snapped, "I told you I'm fine! Besides, a torn muscle is more serious."

Something twisted in Eijun's stomach—something different than when his catcher had joked about Tetsu and Jun. It was partly warm and kind of flappy, like when Miyuki complimented his pitching. But the majority of it felt ugly. Like he was staring down the barrel of a gun, Furuya's flames flickering in his line of sight.

"The noumu tore into your muscles, for all you know!" Eijun exploded. He jabbed a finger into his catcher's chest, ignoring the way his own shoulder muscles twinged.

"Aw," Miyuki mocked. "Are you worried for my abs, Sawamura?"

If this had been a just world, Eijun would have born with a heat vision quirk. As it was, he had to settle for quietly fuming and lashing his tail.

"How about this?" Rin-san interrupted. Eijun blinked, and realized that at some point the man had maneuvered himself in—between himself and Miyuki Kazuya. "Sawamura, was it? I'm afraid I can't do much for a torn muscle, but please take one of the ice packs over there, wrap it in a towel, and apply it. I believe I also saw a shoulder brace you can put on to rest it until someone comes to heal it. As for you two," he smiled at Miyuki and Tanba, and Eijun shivered. It didn't seem as nice as before—almost threatening. "Please take off your shirts so I can properly assess and treat your injuries. We need to stop the bleeding, so I'll be helping you both at the same time. Is that ok?"

"Yes sir," Tanba muttered, and Miyuki nodded. Eijun plopped down by the ice packs.

"Who _are_ you?" Kanemaru asked, awe clear in his voice. "Please teach me your ways, sensei!"

Rin-san laughed even as he sat down again and focused on gathering his supplies.

"I was the captain of my high school swim team, so I'm more than used to wrangling teenagers. And the shark quirk helps." He flashed another smile, showing off his teeth. "But let's focus on all of you, shall we?"

* * *

After they were all treated, they waved goodbye to Rin-san and left in search of Jun. He was right where they had left him—except this time, there was an empty water bottle and an angry Tetsu in front of him. Jun waved at them weakly, and their old captain marched over to them to talk.

"According to the guy in charge, the heroes are almost done wrangling up the noumus. He refused to say more, so I believe it is confidential. Though he did say he wanted to talk to you, Sawamura?"

At the questioning look from Tetsu, Eijun laughed weakly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Ahahaha, well, you see, we all may have forgotten about the whole quirk restriction business, and I may have seriously injured one of the noumus with my claws… completely unfair business, really, Miyuki Kazuya hit him with a baseball bat but _he's_ not going to get in trouble, is he?"

"I might have, but I wasn't stupid enough to _tell someone_ I did it, Bakamura," Miyuki rolled his eyes.

Eijun's cheeks burned.

"It's not like any of you stopped me! Only Kanee said something, and that was after I'd already said it!"

"Someone's coming this way," Chris-senpai interjected. "He looks important."

Tetsu turned to look and nodded. "That's the guy in charge."

They all watched as the hero stopped by Jun, who went quiet to listen. When he was finished, Jun slumped back in his chair, grabbed a water bottle, and started taking small sips. Then, the hero turned towards them.

"Which one of you is Sawamura Eijun?" he asked.

Eijun took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and gave a short bow. "I am, sir!"

The hero studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Considering the extenuating circumstances, and the fact that you aren't a hero in training, we have decided to let you go with a warning. Don't let it happen again, ok?"

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"Do you all have a way home?"

Eijun faltered and turned to his captains. Tetsu and Miyuki exchanged a glance, and the former captain gestured the new one forward.

"No, sir. Three of us need to go to the hospital for healing anyway. But, we came to Tokyo as a much larger group. Is there anyway you can reunite us, sir?"

Eijun's mouth dropped open. "You do know how to be polite, Miyuki Kazuya!" he exclaimed.

That provoked a hiss and slit eyes, and Eijun laughed. Teasing his catcher was familiar and, in a way, calming.

The hero glanced between the two of them, but apparently deciding to ignore the exchange, asked, "Do you know where they are?"

"Yes, sir. I've been in contact with them, and thankfully everyone has checked in. No one else was injured, but I would sincerely appreciate it if we could all go to the hospital as a group, sir."

The hero nodded, looking thoughtful. "Well… let me see what I can do, ok?"

* * *

In the end, it took ten minutes of being at the hospital for them all to be healed. They'd have to take it easy for a few days, so that they didn't undo the healer's work, but compared to how long it would take without the quirk, that was nothing.

The hero in charge—Firebolt, he said his name was—came through as well. The rest of their teammates were picked up from safe zones all over Tokyo and delivered to the hospital. Suddenly, Eijun found himself, Miyuki, and Tanba surrounded.

"I can't believe you let Sawamura get hurt," Kuramochi complained to their captain.

Miyuki snorted. "I didn't _let_ Sawamura do anything. He gets injured all on his idiot lonesome."

"You're sure you're fine, Eijun-kun?" Harucchi asked. He was bent close to Eijun's shoulder, expecting the now non-existent swelling. Furuya stood next to both of them, feet apart and braced as a solid wall between the crowd and them.

"I'm fine," he reassured them, grinning. "Rin-san took good care of me before we got here!"

"Rin-san?" Kuramochi asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Miyuki.

Eijun frowned, confused, but his catcher only snorted again. "Some guy with a shark quirk who was doing triage at the safe zone. Anyways, you should all be congratulating Bakamura on not getting arrested."

"Arrested?" Onii-san asked. For once, he opened his eyes to stare at Eijun. He thought his pride member actually looked impressed. "What did you do, Sawamura?"

"He broke quirk regulations and got off with a warning, but that's it, Ryou," Chris-senpai laughed.

"Hmmm," Onii-san hummed.

"Aniki," Harucchi reproached.

Onii-san just closed his eyes again and chuckled.

* * *

Kataoka-kontoku and Takashima-sensei picked everyone up in one of Seidou's buses, but it moved slowly through detours, safety checks, and the regular Tokyo traffic. It didn't take long for everyone but Eijun and his coaches to fall asleep, the sound of snoring filling the bus. Eijun, though, sat quietly and wide awake in the middle of the backseat, sandwiched between Miyuki and Kuramochi.

His catcher had started the ride stubbornly sitting up, arms crossed, but at one point, his entire body had relaxed into sleep and slid down, head falling to the side. Eijun could feel the band of his glasses digging into his shoulder, and Miyuki's knee heated his own where they pressed together.

On his other side, Kuramochi snored up a storm, and drool slipped down to pool on onii-san's shoulder, where the cheetah's head rested. Onii-san's own head lay on Kuramochi's. He had trusted Harucchi into Furuya's care for the ride, and the two of them rested physically apart, but comfortable together, in the pair of seats before onii-san.

In front of them, Toujou had barricaded Kanee against the window and turned to stone. Not that Toujou was the only one being overprotective. Shirasu, upon finding out what Kawakami had gone through, mothered his friend into the seat two rows before the back. Chris-senpai, after checking with Eijun that he was fine with Miyuki and Kuramochi, had ushered Tanba into the row behind Kawakami and followed him in.

Tetsu, Jun, Kataoka-kontoku, and Takashima-sensei took the first four seats. Everyone else sat scattered in the other seats, pressed together and apart, drooling and snoring and sleeping.

The bus was loud and stank of dirty teenagers, and that had been enough to keep Eijun awake. But now… the cat yawned and allowed his tail to relax a little from where he had curled it tightly around his own waist. He pressed his ear into Miyuki's hair, and the noise dimmed. It was a good angle for his neck, and the heat of being pressed between two bodies made him close his eyes. Just… for a minute… just…

* * *

 **So for some reason, all my long fics in this verse end with all of Seidou sleeping in a relative vicinity to one another. Oh well. No regrets on my end.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed, and please review!**

 **You can also find me on Tumblr at queenofmoons67 to talk about fandoms, my writing, and to submit fic requests!**


End file.
